adj. & n.
--adj.
1. (of a metre) used for elegies.
2 mournful.
--n. (in pl.) verses in an elegiac metre.
Phrases and idioms:
elegiac couplet a pair of lines consisting of a dactylic hexameter and a pentameter, esp. in Greek and Latin verse.
Derivatives:
elegiacally adv.
Etymology: F {eacute}l{eacute}giaque or f. LL elegiacus f. Gk elegeiakos: see ELEGY